Cal Foote has recently inked a contract with the Chicago Wolves, an American Hockey League team. He is one of five players who were cleared of sexual assault charges in a high-profile trial involving members of Canada’s 2018 world junior hockey team. The announcement of Foote’s deal with the team, as a soon-to-be 27-year-old defenseman, was made on Monday. Another player, goaltender Carter Hart, secured a contract with the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights in mid-October, right after the window for new contracts opened.
Forward Michael McLeod, who was also found not guilty of an additional charge related to sexual assault, signed a three-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the KHL in October. McLeod previously played for the same club last season, having initially joined the Russia-based league with Barys Astana in Kazakhstan.
Alex Formenton has been part of HC Ambri-Piotta in the Swiss Hockey League since 2022, following his departure from the Ottawa Senators who chose not to renew his contract. Meanwhile, Dillon Dube spent the 2024-25 season with Dinamo Minsk in Belarus but has not played this season.
All the players, except Formenton, were in the NHL when they were accused in early 2024 in connection to an incident that occurred in London, Ont., back in 2018. Foote and McLeod were associated with New Jersey, Hart with Philadelphia, and Dube with Calgary at the time. These teams did not offer qualifying contracts to the players that summer, leading them to become free agents. The league declared in September that they would be eligible to sign contracts on October 15 and start playing on December 1. It is anticipated that Hart may make his debut with Vegas as early as Tuesday.